Tipsheet

Klobuchar Distances Herself from Competitors on Pro-life Democrats

Cortney O'Brien
Cortney O'Brien  |  February 13, 2020 10:00 AM

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said this week that unlike a few of her presidential competitors, she welcomes those who identify as pro-life to the Democratic Party.

"I believe we're a big tent party and there are pro-life Democrats," she explained in a satellite interview on "The View" this week while she was campaigning in Manchester, NH. "And they are part of our party and I think we need to build a big tent. I think we need to bring people in instead of shutting them out."

That, she said, is the only way to reach out to independents and moderate Republicans. Her remarks are a far cry from the sentiments shared by South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who told a pro-life Democrat in Iowa last month that there was no place for her in the party. 

"Well, I respect where you're coming from and I hope to earn your vote, but I'm not going to try to earn your vote by tricking you," he said during a town hall with Fox News' Chris Wallace in Des Moines, Iowa. "I am pro-choice and I believe that a woman ought to be able to make that decision."

Klobuchar's take is more inclusive, clearly. And it's not the first time she has publicly distanced herself from her more progressive opponents. At last month's Iowa debate, she was the only contender onstage who raised her hand to admit she was nervous to have a socialist Democrat in the White House. 

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But hold the phone. As pro-life activists have noted, in the same ABC interview above she also emphasized that she was pro-choice, i.e. no friend to the movement.

"I am strongly pro-choice, I have always been pro-choice," she said.

Of course, then there are pro-lifers like actress Patricia Heaton, who wonder how anyone could be a pro-life Democrat.